Polyvinylfluoride (PVF), commercially available in film form, is used in a wide variety of protective and decorative applications. Typically, PVF is laminated to another surface. For example, it is often the top surface on aluminum or polyvinyl chloride panels used for house siding.
PVF has also been used for surfacing interior aircraft panels, bonded to a substrate that forms the basic structural component of such panels. Bloom, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,135, describes thick laminates of PVF and polyaryletherketoneketone (PEKK), in which the thickness of the PEKK is greater than about 625 micrometers.
Still other laminar structures have previously been developed which, through careful regulation of the thicknesses of the components, can be embossed without the inclusion of embossing resin.
Despite prior improvements in this area, particular difficulty has been encountered in the past in the preparation of complex shapes. For example, passenger service units for aircraft interiors are difficult to surface with prior laminates, the performance properties of which would otherwise suit them well for such uses. Moreover, particularly in aircraft construction, materials are desirable which generate little or no smoke when exposed to high temperatures.